Mariners pull out crucial walkoff win over A’s to avoid getting swept

SEATTLE – The three players critical to any consistent run-scoring production for the Mariners this season have also been three of the slowest starters and most criticized non-contributors in what has been a staccato start over the first 26 games.

But over the last six games, Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez and Josh Naylor have slowly started to stack productive at-bats and amass hits.

On a gray and rainy Wednesday afternoon that made summer still feel months away, the trio’s increasing production continued in a game where the Mariners absolutely needed a victory.

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth of a tie game, Raleigh bounced a ball up the middle for a single to keep the Mariners’ victory hopes alive.

Rodríguez moved Raleigh into scoring position with a crisp single to left.

Naylor made sure the Mariners avoided being swept at home by the A’s, closing out the homestand with a win.

He lined a first-pitch cutter into left field that allowed Raleigh and his Big Dumper to score from second for a 5-4 walk-off victory.

“Quite a ballgame today. I just want to give those guys in there a huge shout-out for continuing to fight all game long,” manager Dan Wilson said. “We just kept scratching and clawing. For our guys to come back and do what they did with two outs, pretty spectacular. We’ll take this on the road with us and take some momentum from it for sure.”

The Mariners ended the six-game homestand with a 3-3 record. They were scheduled to travel to St. Louis after Wednesday’s win. They have an off day on Thursday, perhaps giving them time to visit the Gateway Arch, before opening a three-game series at Busch Stadium on Friday as part of a six-game road trip. Any accrued momentum will be useful since Seattle is 1-8 away from T-Mobile Park this season.

The bottom of the ninth didn’t start ideally. Leo Rivas led off with a single off A’s reliever Joel Kuhnel. But when Jeff McNeil was able to start a double play on J.P. Crawford’s hard-hit groundball to the right side, erasing the go-ahead run on the bases, extra innings seemed like a given.

“That was a really good play,” Naylor said.

But the singles from Raleigh and Rodríguez set Naylor up with a chance for his first walk-off hit as a member of the Mariners.

“Honestly, just get a hit and end the game,” Naylor said of his approach. “Try to hit a single and try to hit it where the outfielders have to move to their left or right, at least a step or two, which makes a throw to home a little more delayed, but really just got a good pitch to hit. The two hitters before me had very professional at-bats.”

Coming into the homestand, the trio, who bat in the Nos. 2-3-4 spots in the order, were not exactly producing to expected levels. Their numbers:

• Raleigh: 89 plate appearances, .169/.253/.286 slash line (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage), three doubles, two homers, 11 RBIs, nine walks, 29 strikeouts.
• Rodríguez: 87 plate appearances, .200/.310/.267 slash line, two doubles, a homer, six RBIs, 10 walks and 23 strikeouts
• Naylor: 83 plate appearances, .118/.193/.197 slash line, two homers, seven RBIs, six walks and 15 strikeouts.

Not ideal production to the point where Wilson was being asked if they might change up the batting order, moving Naylor down. But his belief in his players producing might eventually be rewarded. He knows those three players can make the offense elite.

“These guys have really found a good groove,” Wilson said. “Their at-bats have been outstanding. I was super impressed there with two outs, Cal getting the hit up the middle, Julio going into the hole, and then Naylor going the other way to win it.”

On Wednesday, they combined to go 7-for-15 with a double, a homer, four runs scored and three RBIs.

Over the recent homestand, the production was a little different:

• Raleigh: six games, 7-for-24, a double, three homers, four runs, three RBIs, three walks, four strikeouts and a stolen base.
• Rodríguez: six games, 9-for-23, a double, three runs scored, two RBIs, a stolen base, two walks and four strikeouts.
• Naylor: five games, 9-for-17, two doubles, a run scored, three RBIs, a stolen base, three walks and two strikeouts.

“You work hard to get those results,” Naylor said. “It’s a hard game we play. It’s arguably the hardest sport. We chose to play it – and we’re idiots for choosing it – but we did. And we have decided to come to this ballpark every day and grind.”

The Mariners took a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the ninth and gave the ball to closer Andres Muñoz. But Nick Kurtz, the 2025 American League rookie of the year, was able to drive a low slider over the wall in center for a game-tying solo homer.

The small announced crowd of 15,704 certainly didn’t seem to have much hope, some even heading for the exit. Victory wasn’t going to be easy.

“I think we’ve seen that a little bit just with our American League West opponents,” Wilson said. “It’s been a little bit of back and forth. We saw it with Texas and Anaheim as well. It’s a battle. With that group in there, I like our chances in a battle.”

The Mariners got an abbreviated and pitch-filled start from Logan Gilbert.

Gilbert made it only four innings on 89 pitches. He allowed three runs on six hits with two walks, a hit batter and three strikeouts. The A’s hit him hard, putting eight balls in play with exit velocities of more than 95 mph. They had four over 105 mph.

The A’s grabbed an early 2-0 lead in the first. Gilbert walked Kurtz to start the game. He then gave up a hard single to Shea Langeliers and a weird single when Carlos Cortes’ liner back to the mound hit him just above the stomach and then went inside of his jersey where it got trapped. It was ruled a single, loading the bases.

Tyler Soderstrom drove in the first run with a sac fly and Jeff McNeil made it 2-0 with a two-out single to center.

The Mariners got a run back in the bottom of the first. Crawford started the inning with a single off Aaron Civale. With one out, Rodríguez and Naylor both singled to load the bases. Randy Arozarena drove in Seattle’s first run with a sac fly to left. The Mariners reloaded the bases again when Luke Raley worked a walk, but Dom Canzone struck out looking to end the inning. Would that failure to add on come back to haunt them or be a sign of things to come?

The A’s made it 3-1 in the third inning. Cortes led off with an infield single and somehow scored from first base without a throw on Jacob Wilson’s double down the third baseline and into the left-field corner.

Seattle chipped away at the deficit.

Raleigh moved the Mariners within a run when he hit a laser over the wall in right field for a solo homer. It was his third consecutive game with a solo homer.

The Mariners tied the game in the sixth. Naylor led off with a single. With one out, pinch-hitter Mitch Garver doubled to right-center to put runners on second and third. Rob Refsynder, who was called on to pinch hit for Dom Canzone, hit a deep drive to center that allowed Naylor to tag up and score.